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Health and Welfare

Jane Beshear Announces Domestic Violence Awareness Month

By Amy Wilson, Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues

Earlier this week, First Lady Jane Beshear publicly noted the accomplishments of the anti-domestic violence movement in Kentucky and spoke the names of 26 women who had died at the hands of their abusers this year. With that, she then announced that October would again be Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Kentucky. “Nearly one-third of all American women report being abused at some point in their lives. Abuse affects more than just individuals -- families and communities suffer, too,” said Beshear.

“Domestic Violence Awareness Month is the opportunity for all Kentuckians to learn how to recognize the signs of domestic abuse and to show support for victims as they work to regain control of their lives.”

Kentucky is one of only four states that do not provide protection for dating violence victims. “In celebrating the successes of the Violence Against Women Act, we must acknowledge the work still left to do,” said KDVA President Anne Perkins, who also serves as executive director of Safe Harbor, a regional domestic violence program in Ashland. She called on state legislators to pass a new dating violence bill during the next legislative session. Research shows that young women between the ages of 20 to 24 are at greatest risk of intimate partner violence.